Warhammer Time
by lemanruss96
Summary: When the hunt for a rogue mage results in Sergeant Titus's squad being transported to the land of Ooo, they meet new heroes and face an evil unlike anything they've ever seen. Contains FinnxMarceline, don't judge if my Space Marines aren't perfect.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Delta Squad Members:

Sergeant Titus: Sergeant

Dakir: Apothecary

Rafen: Heavy Weapons

Iagon: Flame Unit

Somwhere above the world Haven…

The Thunderhawk roared down through the atmosphere, an aura of intense heat surrounding it as it flew to the world below.

Inside, Sergeant Titus of Delta Squad turned to his three men. Each one was a long-time veteran, with a combined total of almost two thousand years in the Ultramarines. And right now, they were going to need every second of that experience.

"Alright men," he began in his gruff voice. "We've been tasked with destroying the worthless Eldar sorcerer Siu'Katan. We cannot afford to make mistakes on this mission. If he is not destroyed, the campaign to retake this world in the name of the Emperor will be halted in its tracks." He looked each of his men in the eyes. "Our lives mean nothing. All that matters now is that he is sent to be judged, preferably with a little pain on the way."

"Sir, yes sir!" his squad chanted in unison. Titus nodded and sat back in his crash seat, enjoying what would probably be his last peaceful moment for a long time. Well, the wind was howling fearsomely against the sides of the craft. Okay, so at least it's comfortable. But, then again, crash seats never have been his first seating choice…

Fine. Titus enjoyed what would probably be his last moments in a place not full of people who wanted to kill him.

Well, Iagon had been pretty sore about when Titus made him lose at thirteen…

He decided to stop thinking about it.

Finn and Jake ran away from the Ice King's castle, laughing as he shouted overly complicated threats at them.

"And I'll take your take our arms, freeze them, and use them as backscratchers!" he shouted as he shot another ice bolt. The two dodged it and kept on laughing. After a couple of minutes, once they couldn't hear him anymore, they fell to the ground laughing.

"Man, did you see his face?" Jake asked between fits of laughter.

"I sure did," Finn replied. "Man, when he saw you with that mask and hook, I thought he was gonna have a heart attack!"

"Is it safe to come out?" a small voice from Finn's backpack asked.

"Sure thing, Ladybug Princess," Finn replied. He undid the top and pulled out a small ladybug with a crown. "Now be safe out there, ya hear?"

She nodded, gave them a quick wave and flew off. Once they lost sight of her, Finn turned to Jake. "So, what have we done today?"

"Let's see," Jake began. "We helped the Candy Kingdom escort a diplomatic visitor, we did some scouting in that dungeon over by the Fire Kingdom, and we saved Ladybug Princess from that giant nerd. Pretty good; it's not even four yet."

Finn's eyes widened. "It's almost four! Oh my Glob, I have a date with Marceline at four-twenty! We gotta get home, I can't let her see me in my dirty adventure clothes!"

Finn and Marceline had been dating for about a year now, ever since Bubblegum had turned herself eighteen again and started ignoring Finn. As much as Jake appreciated Marceline for helping his bro through a tough time, she still scared him. Besides that, there was always the fact that Marceline was immortal while Finn would eventually grow old. But, Jake and Lady had made it work, so he figured those two would work something out.

On the surface, Titus's squad had faced little opposition. There had been light Eldar scouting units, but nothing serious. This had him worried. Here they were, within a bastion of their enemy, yet he had almost no defenses erected. He shook his head. Doubt was not important at this phase of the mission.

As they moved closer to Siu'Katan's location, Iagon spoke up. "Feels like we're being watched."

"Hush," Dakir replied. "I hear something."

Sure enough, Titus began to hear something too. It sounded like chanting, but he couldn't make out the words. Also, as they drew closer, he began to notice frost on the ground, despite the fact this part of Haven was supposed to be having summer right now.

Finally, they came to the spot it seemed to be emanating from. It just looked like a hole in the ground, and they probably would have ignored it if not for the chanting that was coming out of it.

Rafen looked in a bit, scanning for targets. "Clear," he announced.

They entered in an arrow formation with Titus at the front. All of them were nervous, with their weapons being targeted at every little noise they heard. Even with their augmented vision, they each knew there was a lot of ground in the cave that was concealing something they couldn't see.

After a while, their way was blocked by a massive slab of basalt. There were small runes carved into it, each seemingly dabbed in blood. Titus shuddered a bit at its presence. "Rafen," he commanded. "Destroy this unholy creation."

"Happily sir," came Rafen's reply. He calmly attached two krak grenades with remote detonator to it and led them all back a few paces. "Fire in the hole," he announced, activating the detonator.

The slab shattered into pieces of black glass which the squad stomped through on their way into the chamber beyond.

Inside, there was a pool of some sort of green glowing slime. On the other side, they saw a cloaked figure, chanting while weaving complex motions through the air. Titus stepped forward defiantly, his chainsword raised and his bolt pistol at the ready. "It's over, Siu'Katan. Say your last prayers to your heathen god."

The figure's eyes raised under its hood and it made a hideous motion with its mouth that Titus assumed was equivalent to a smile. "No," it answered. "It is you who should start praying."

Titus's eyes widened with horror at the sight he saw. "Demon," he whispered. The shadow cast by the creature was not as it should be, but was rather the shadow of a hulking, skeletal creature. He got over it quickly however and targeted the creature with its pistol. "Fire at will!" he roared. His squad happily obeyed, emptying their clips just to see this abomination die.

However, it was in vain. The rounds impacted and flattened against an invisible shield an arms length from the sorcerer. Titus roared with frustration and charged at the thing, swinging his chainsword. His squad followed suite, holstering their weapons as they drew their blades and charged at the creature.

Despite the oncoming rush, Siu'Katan continued his spell. An instant before they reached him, he chanted the last words and his arms fell limp to his sides. The Space Marines paused, confused.

Rafen was the first to break the silence, speaking in something more than a single one-syllable word. "What in the blazes did he just do?"

His question was answered immediately as a massive ball of energy floated out of the pool. Siu'Katan smiled and hissed "Yesss." He then reached out a hand and was absorbed into it.

The Space Marines, meantime, had no intentions of letting that thing touch them. Each Marine grabbed some sort of handhold, trying with all their might just to keep from falling into that thing. Dakir was the first to fall; his handhold broke off at the last second and he fell in, screaming. Iagon was second, but he was caught by Rafen on his way. Titus watched with horror as Rafen's hold on the wall slowly slipped until the two went tumbling into the sphere.

Titus felt his hold slipping as the orb strengthened. With a howl of rage and frustration, he too was drawn into the void.

Finn carefully prepared himself in front of the mirror, making sure his hat and bowtie were straight. Satisfied he began to walk to the front door. "Jake, I'm going now," he shouted up.

"Just a minute, I need to get ready too," Jake replied.

"Okay." Finn then thought for a second. "Wait a minute, Jake, why are you coming?"

"Oh, um, Me and Lady got reservations at the same place. For the same time. At neighboring tables."

"Wait, bro, are you trying to play chaperone?"

"Me? No," Jake answered as he came downstairs. "Me and lady just happen to like this place…"

Finn stared at him for a second. "Alright," Jake cracked. "I just want to make sure you don't, um, how do you say, have milk and cookies with Marceline."

Finn frowned. "What's wrong with that?" he asked. "Marceline may not like the cookies too much, but we just get the red dyed ones so she can drink the red and I can eat the cookie."

"No, no, no," Jake replied. "I, I just don't want you to have the milk and cookies that you have in bed."

"No worries," Finn answered. "It gets crumbs all over the sheets and those things are impossible to sleep in."

"Sounds good," Jake replied, quickly changing the subject. "Now come on, let's go!"

On their way to Marceline's house, the two had to pass through the Woods o' Pervading Creepiness in the dark. As they moved along, the two argued a bit over the nature of the place.

"I'm telling ya man, something in this place is not right," Jake said nervously.

"Dude, grow up. It's just all these half-dead trees," Finn countered, although he too noticed something odd in the atmosphere.

"Na, it ain't the trees. There's just something here that isn't supposed to be here."

"You're just paranoi… wait, what's that" Finn started, pointing to a patch of white on the ground.

Jake looked closer. "It's frost," he answered. "Looks like the Ice King."

"No way," Finn answered. "He's in bed by now. An old man like him, he needs all the sleep he can get."

Jake looked and saw more patches, with the layers getting heavier near a large tree. "Looks like whatever it is, it's over there."

Finn squinted over. "Doesn't seem too dangerous. And besides, the only other thing that controls ice is the Lich, and we sent him off long ago."

"Yeah," Jake answered. "Ah, it'll wait until the date is done."

As the two continued, a colossal figure stepped into their path. The two looked up at it, trying to hide their shock and fear. "Looks like we're gonna be late," Finn whispered.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**I own nothing!**

As Finn and Jake stared at the colossal figure, it slowly drew an immense sword. "Who in the Emperor's name are you?" it rumbled.

Finn squeezed his hand into a fist, hoping Jake would notice. Jake quickly glanced over and saw Finn's hand. He immediately morphed his right arm into huge fist and delivered a vicious uppercut to the creature. This blow had once crumbled an entire cliff and smashed through a two-inch plate of candy steel. However, it may as well have been a light backhand slap for all the giant reacted.

It did, however, enrage the creature. Its sword roared to life as it sliced down at the pair. Finn and Jake rolled aside as the blade cleaved the air they had just inhabited. Finn drew out his own sword, while Jake buffed himself up a bit. Looking over, Jake commented "You took a sword? On a date!"

"This is not the time to complain dude!" Finn shouted over as he parried a blow. His carefully placed shot had knocked the giant off balance. He charged up and jumped onto the things head. Making sure to block as much of the thing's vision as possible, he began to bang away with his sword.

The giant grunted, backing up as it tried to remove Finn. Jake needed no cue as he slipped behind the giant's knees, tripping it. Finn calmly prepared to ram his sword through the thing's eye as he stood above it. Suddenly, he heard a series of clicks.

Looking up, he saw three more of the creatures. Each one held something that looked like one of the guns you occasionally dug up on Mushroom War battlefields. However, the barrels on these looked big enough for Finn to put his fist into with plenty of room.

As Jake and Finn looked around, they saw it was hopeless. Finn turned to Jake, removing his hat. "Well, sorry it has to end this way homey."

"Still, we had some fun," Jake replied.

As they prepared for their dooms, they heard a rumbling "Brothers, wait."

The two turned around, seeing the giant they had knocked over getting up. It placed its hands on its head and gave a small twist. They heard a hiss like a slowly released fart and watched as the creature removed its helmet.

The face underneath was even more surprising than they could have imagined. It was a face that was definitely human, and not just a small fraction human like Princess Bubblegum or the chilly blueness of the Ice King, but a full blown born-and-bred human.

Finn stuttered a bit. "You…you're human."

"Yes," the giant human answered. "But mostly as a matter of principle, not so much genetically."

Finn stared blankly at him. "Umm…sure."

Titus sighed a bit. "Forget it. Do you two have names?"

"Um, yeah," Finn answered. "I'm Finn the Human, and this is my bro Jake. What about you guys?"

"My name is Titus, Sergeant of Delta Squad of the Ultramarines. This is Rafen, our heavy weapons expert." The giant carrying the biggest gun pulled off his helmet, revealing a face that looked like it was carved out of solid granite. "This is Iagon, our resident pyromaniac," Titus continued, pointing to the giant with a gigantic weapon Finn didn't recognize. The giant removed its helmet, revealing a face that was completely mechanical on one side before shooting a glare at Titus.

"Sergeant, with all due respect, we've had this conversation before," he growled. Titus laughed heartily at this.

"Yes, we may have, but it doesn't make it any less amusing. And last but not least, this is our apothecary, Dakir," he said, motioning to the last giant who Finn noticed had a small Red Cross on his right arm. Dakir removed his helmet too, nodding to Finn and Jake. "And all of us would like to apologize. We didn't think you were a human."

"Mathematical," Finn whispered.

"You said it bro," Jake replied.

Once Finn got over his disbelief, he began to inquire. "How did you guys get here?"

"Dark sorcery," Titus replied, spitting out the words. "We were tracking the warlock Siu'Katan into his layer when he activated some sort of spell. Next thing we know, we're stuck in, um, what do you call this world?"

"Ooo," Finn replied.

"What?"

"Ooo. Three O's in a row."

"Oh."

"Not 'Oh'," Jake added helpfully. "Ooo."

Titus shook his head. "Emperor above, I thought that some of our worlds were strangely named. In any case, could you help us figure out how to track Siu'Katan down and get back home?"

"No," Finn answered, drooping down a bit. Abruptly, he perked up. "But I know someone who could."

"Who?" Dakir replied, speaking for the first time.

"My girlfriend, Marceline. She knows all about that inter-dimensional stuff."

"Sounds good," Titus answered.

While the group talked, a presence watched from afar. It had gotten successfully back to its realm, and the body it inhabited had much useful data on new and powerful weapons its followers could use. It absorbed this data quickly, taking along with it all the mind and personality of the one who had been Siu'Katan.

That body was merely a husk now. A husk for the one called the Lich.

The group ran as fast as they could to Marceline's house. They were moving so quick, they failed to see a familiar purple form on the trail ahead.

Lumpy Space Princess stirred her can of beans as she talked on her cell phone. "Yeah Melissa. I mean, living away from my parents is totally lumpin' awesome. No curfews, no 'LSP, he's a bad influence.' It's just me, my totally awesome shelter, and this can of …"

Finn and Jake came racing into the clearing. They weren't paying attention to where they were going, so Finn accidentally caught his foot on the stove LSP had set up above the fire, knocking it over and sending the two tumbling into a heap.

"Nooooo!" LSP screamed as her beans spilled out onto the ground. "Mahhhh Beeeeeeaaaaaaannnnnnnssssss!"

Finn looked up, trying to discern what had just happened. Based off the spilled beans and LSP's facial expression, he had just gotten her to a point of rage he had only ever seen once before.

"I'm! Gonna! Lumpin'! Kill you!" She screamed as she launched herself towards them.

From outside the clearing, LSP heard a low, definitely male, and totally hot voice. "What is that thing?"

Turning around, she was about to respond with an enraged reply, but then she saw Titus. In that second, she knew who she'd been waiting for her whole life.

Looking back to Finn, she hissed "Quick, do I look hot right now?"

"What?" Finn responded.

"Do I look hot?" she hissed back with murder in her eyes.

"Yea, sure," Finn replied.

She quickly patted the purple fuzz on her head down and floated over to where Titus was standing.

"Hello," she said, smiling seductively. "What's your name?"

"I am Sergeant Titus of the Ultramarines, Delta Squad. And what exactly are you?"

"Lumpy Space Princess," she replied, fluttering her non-existent eyelashes. Noticing the other Space Marines, she motioned over to them. "Who are they?"

"Those are my brothers, Dakir, Iagon, and Rafen."

"Hold on a sec." LSP quickly floated where her phone was and started to quietly shriek into it. "Melissa, you would not believe it. I just met the hottest four men in uniform you are ever going to see, and guess what? They're brothers!" She paused to shriek again. "Get over here quick, but stay away from Titus! He is mine!"

While she was occupied, Finn and Jake slipped back over to the Space Marines. Titus was looking at LSP curiously. "I have been a Space Marine for five hundred years, and never have I seen a creature that's just…so…I'm not even sure."

"Yeah, we kind of need to get out of here," Finn said urgently. "If Melissa gets here, she'll call another friend, LSP will freak out about something, and we'll be lucky to get away after a week."

Titus and the rest of his squad shuddered a bit with the thought. "Yes, leaving does seem like a good course of action," Titus answered.

LSP looked over. She saw that Finn, Jake, and the Ultramarines were running away. "You can't run away from love!" she shouted after. "We were meant to be!"

As they ran, the Space Marines began to pull ahead. Finn and Jake countered by pulling ahead themselves. This resulted in a race that ended with Jake growing up to the size of a house, Finn jumping on his back, and the Space Marines being left in the dust.

"Hey dude, we're close," finn said to Jake, pointing at the entrance to Marceline's cave. Jake shrunk down as Finn jumped off and the two strolled in.

Inside of the cave, there was a small pink house with a dock in the lake behind it. Finn and Jake walked up to the front door and knocked.

The door exploded open, with Marceline grabbing Finn by the collar and lifting him a full foot off the ground. Jake, seeing it was about to get ugly, leapt behind a rock and proceeded to have a heebie-jeebies attack.

Marceline's eyes glowed red as she stared at Finn. "You have ten seconds to explain why you're half an hour late for our date!"

Finn quickly motioned to the cave entrance, where the worn out Space Marines were just coming in.

"Hey, no fair," Dakir yelled in. "Why should you get to use powers?"

"Yeah," Iagon added. "We don't even have a…"

They froze as soon as they saw Marceline dangling Finn above the ground. Their weapons immediately came up, sights centered on Marceline's forehead. Marceline dropped Finn, turning to face the Space Marines. Her look of pure rage turned into a smirk as she observed the squad. "What, am I really so dangerous you need guns to beat me?"

"Stop it!" Finn yelled as he made his way up. "Guys, this is Marceline, my girlfriend. I was supposed to have a date with her tonight, but then junk happened that made me late, so she has a right to be mad. Marceline, this is Titus, Dakir, Iagon, and Rafen. They need your help with something involving dark magic. Can we please come in?"

Marceline nodded. "Yeah, you guys can all come inside. You too Jake," who was currently peeping out from behind a rock. The Space Marines nodded and walked in to her house. "And wipe your feet when you come in," she growled at them.

Turning to Finn, her face turned softer. "I'm sorry," she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I just lost it back there."

"It's cool," Finn answered. "It's my fault. I was late; you have every right to be mad."

She smiled, gave him a quick sock to the arm, followed by a kiss to the cheek. He started to turn a light shade of pink. She laughed a bit, and then floated to the front door. "Come on," she said, motioning to him. "Let's get some food and figure out how to help these Space Mar-weenies."

**Please R&R! I appreciate the feedback.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**I own nothing!**

Inside Marceline's house, the group sat around her living room (the Space Marines were forced to sit on the floor for fear they would smash Marceline's furniture) Titus explained all he could about their realm. About how Humanity had been allied together under the never-dying Emperor, how they were forced to do war almost constantly to protect themselves, and how this had spawned the Space Marines.

As he finished the story, Finn stirred from his place on the comfy couch he'd helped Marceline get. "Um, can you explain the whole Warp thing a little clearer?"

"Certainly," Titus answered. "You see, it is an immaterial realm full of demonic creatures. It can offer both a fast transport for our fleets…"

"Like the black holes in Heat Signature IV?" Jake asked.

Titus stared at him for a second and then continued. "Anyway, the demons in it also have a lot of power. Some of the evil ones corrupt men, promising them glory if they just help them with supposed 'small favors'."

"So why doesn't everyone do it?" Marceline asked.

"First, you have to have latent energies of the Warp yourself," Titus replied. "So that rules out over ninety-nine percent of the population. Also, they're demons. The minute you let your guard down, no, even before you let your guard down, they'll rip your soul away and use your body as a puppet to their will."

"Sounds like the Lich," Finn growled, smashing his fist against the couch's arm.

"Who?" the Space Marines asked in unison, looking confused.

"He's some sort of ancient monster," Marceline explained. "When he first appeared, the Hero Billy trapped him in amber. Then, he escaped, and my little hero here destroyed him," she said, tousling Finn's hair under his hat. "Then, he took Princess Bubblegum's body, and we flushed him out and trapped him in some sort of hellish realm."

Dakir leaned forward. "This Lich, what did he look like?"

"A twenty foot tall skeleton with horns," Jake answered.

Titus paled a little. "And, err, what kind of realm did you banish him to?"

Finn shrugged a little. "I don't know. It just looked like a big, seething mass of teeth, claws, and lightning."

Titus gulped. "Well, you see, you may have sent him to our Warp."

"So?" Marceline calmly asked.

"So," Titus angrily replied, his fear turning to anger. "You virtually gave this monstrosity of yours the keys to our dimension!"

"What are you talking about?" Finn snapped back.

Titus sighed. Picking up his helmet, he said "Here, it would be easier to show you."

Looking around, he saw there was no computer system he had ever seen in his dimension. "Can anything in here play a POV cam?"

"Just a sec," Marceline replied as she got up and started floating away. "I've got a bunch of wires upstairs. Maybe one of them will fit."

"Here, Beemo can help," Finn said, grabbing the little game console from his pack.

Marceline looked over, first at Beemo, then at Finn. "Why'd you bring him?"

"I got some new beats you might like," Finn answered.

"Oh. Cool."

After a lot of tinkering, Jake receiving a bad shock, and Marceline nearly losing her temper again, they managed to hook up Titus's helmet to Marceline's TV.

"Okay," Marceline said as she picked up the remote and sat next to Finn. "Let's see this."

The video started with Titus and his team getting off their Thunderhawk. They were up to the first Eldar scout team when the door slammed open. Titus was the first to react, drawing his pistol and pointing it at the door when he realized who it was.

"Oh no," He muttered. "Not this, not now."

"Oh yes," LSP replied as she floated in. "I ran for two straight hours, nearly got attacked by a pack of Why-wolves, and all of it is worth it, just to be right here." With that, she plunked herself down on the floor next to Titus, grabbing the pillow Jake was leaning on. "Now what are we watching? Some kind of action movie? Glob, I hate these, wait now!" Looking between the Space Marines sitting on the floor with all their armor but their helmets on and back at the screen, she shrieked again. "Oh my glob, you guys are movie stars too? This is lumpin' amazing!"

With that, she firmly grabbed on to Titus's left arm. He looked pathetically over to Finn, who merely shrugged and played the movie.

They watched until they got to the part where they encountered Siu'Katan in his chamber. "That looks a lot like the Lich's pool," Finn commented as he paled.

"Just wait," Titus returned.

Then, Finn saw it. There was no mistaking it. The figure next to the pool was casting the Lich's shadow. They continued watching until Titus and his squad were sucked into the sphere of energy, at which point Finn paused the video and stood up in front of the group.

"Alright everyone," he began. "The Lich is in Ooo, and since he has the body of a sorcerer from your dimension, there's no telling what sort of damage he could do. We need to get to the Candy Kingdom at once. PB'll be able to make us some of those gem things and we can take him down quickly."

"Wait," Marceline spoke up. "It's light out. I won't be able to go anywhere very easily, much less fight an ancient evil."

"It's morning already?" Finn asked as he peered outside.

"Morning? But we just OH MY GLOB! LADY! I WAS SUPPOSED TO MEET HER AT FOUR-TWENTY LAST NIGHT! SHE'LL KILL ME!" Jake screamed. Running out the door, he paused to add "I'll be back before night. Probably a bachelor again," he quietly added.

Finn watched as Jake ran off. The more he thought about it, the more he realized how tired he was. He'd been running on all cylinders since eight o'clock the previous morning. Still, he had to keep going. Marceline noticed this. Sighing a little bit, she put her hand on Finn's shoulder and turned over to the Space Marines and LSP.

"Guys, you should get some rest. Me and Finn here don't need any. We'll stay up until night."

"Sure thing," Titus replied. Turning to his men, he barked out orders. "Everyone! Go through full purification rites on your armor and weapons. Then get some sleep. We'll need it for what's ahead."

The other Space Marines nodded and went outside, being followed by Titus, who in turn was followed by LSP. Marceline watched them until they had left and then turned to Finn.

"I got some new videos," she said calmly to Finn as she floated over to her shelf. "Let's see, no, no, aha! Here we are!" she proclaimed as she lifted up a DVD. Finn squinted a bit at the title.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Dragon Ball Z Kai, first six episodes of the Saiyan chronicles."

"Algebraic!" Finn shouted. He leapt over to her, grabbed the disk, and promptly stuck it into her DVD player. "Come on, play play play!" he whispered at the TV. Seeing it was working, he promptly rushed back to the couch where Marceline was already sitting.

Marceline looked over at Finn. He was already asleep. He may be full of energy, but even he had his limits. She shut off the TV and picked up Finn. She held him tight, feeling the warmth of his body. Warmth. Something she hadn't felt for a long time before she met him.

Floating upstairs, she placed hi in her bed and pulled up the covers. After thinking a second, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. He stirred a little and she saw a smile creep across his sleeping face. She grinned a bit as she went downstairs and outside to see how the Space Marines were doing.

She saw their armor together under a large tarp of some kind. Against her house, the Space Marines were sleeping, in Titus's case, with LSP using his chest as a pillow. However, she only counted three. Turning, she saw Dakir, the Medic, sitting on her dock and staring into the water. He heard her approach and turned around.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey," she replied. She sat down next to him, and the two were silent for a while. Finally, Marceline broke the silence.

"What's it like?" she asked.

"What?" he answered.

"What's it like to be a Space Marine? To be the pinnacle of power, to be virtually worshipped by those you protect?"

He sighed a bit. "It is a glorious life. To fight for the protection of millions, to liberate the oppressed." He paused for a second. "But it has its sadness too. To lose ones brothers in combat, to see some of the worst things war can bring out in either side."

"I know," Marceline answered. "I can potentially live forever, my powers allow me to do the impossible, and I have some of the best friends in the world. Still, even as I remain forever young, they slowly turn old and…" She choked on the last word, finding herself unable to say it. Dakir saw what she meant and slowly nodded.

"Aye. Immortality is a double-edged blade."

"You said it."

**Again, please R&R. Thanks.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**I own nothing!**

Finn woke up, wondering at first where he was. Looking around, he realized he was in Marceline's bed. He pulled himself out, straightening his clothes as he went downstairs.

Marceline turned over as she heard his approach. Upon seeing him, she smiled. "Morning Finn," she said affably.

"Morning," he replied as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "What time is it?"

"Four-thirty. Still got about an hour before you have to go."

She floated over to him, carrying a plate of eggs and bacon. "Here, eat up. You'll need your strength."

He was happy to oblige. Considering Marceline could live her whole life without eating anything but red, she was a pretty darn good cook. As he finished, a thought came to mind. "Where's Jake?"

"Oh, he came in around noon. Fell asleep right over there," she answered, motioning over to her kitchen floor where Jake was snoring away, kicking occasionally in his sleep.

"He say anything about Lady?"

"Nope."

Finn looked at his bro, wishing him luck in his relationship. Turning to Marceline, he asked "Where are the Space Marines?"

"Outside. They're doing some sort of rites with their weapons. It's probably rude to interrupt."

From outside, they heard LSP going on about something. "And then I was like 'Oh my Glob Melissa, your hair looks totally lumpin' hot!'"

She frowned a little. "At least, I thought it would be rude."

The two went outside. They saw the squad cleaning their weapons, mumbling some sort of chants. LSP had herself firmly clamped to Titus as he cleaned his chainsword (Titus had explained the various weapons last night).

"So the Brad _put his tongue in my mouth_! I mean, can you lumpin' believe it?"

Finn thought he heard something to the lines of "I'll shove something worse down your throat if you don't shut up." However, he paid the comment no attention as he saw what Iagon was cleaning. It was some sort of gauntlet that looked incredibly close to Billy's.

"Where'd you get that?" Finn asked. Iagon turned over, surprised to see him there.

"What, my power-fist? It's a fairly common weapon in the Space Marines."

"That looks a super-lot like a weapon from the old hero of our world, Billy."

Iagon frowned a bit. "That is very strange indeed. We should probably tell Titus."

The two walked over to the sergeant, who was just rising as they came over. "Sergeant," Iagon addressed. "Finn has something to tell you."

"Yes?" Titus answered as he turned to Finn. Finn commenced to explain how when he had first beaten the Lich, Bubblegum had given him a relic of the hero Billy. He described what it looked like, how it functioned, and what had happened to it. Titus thought a bit as he reached his conclusion.

"That does sound like a power-fist, but one with the machine spirit badly malfunctioning. I'm surprised it didn't blow up in your face with the way you tell me you were using it."

"Do you still have it?" Iagon asked.

Finn's face fell a little. "No, it got trashed in my first attack on the Lich." He brightened up. "But I do know where Billy is. Maybe he can tell you more about it."

Titus nodded. "Very well. Marines!" he barked.

The squad stood up to attention. "Sir!" they answered.

"We have reason to believe there was a previous Space Marine presence on this world. Finn knows where he is; he will take us to him. Prepare for immediate departure."

As the marines began to pack their gear, Finn motioned for Titus's attention. "I've got some stuff to handle before we can leave."

He nodded. "Okay. But make it quick."

Finn dashed into the house, Marceline spinning around in surprise and Jake shooting up as he charged in. "Jake, we've got places to go. Get yourself ready, quick!" Jake nodded and quickly grabbed his little bits of stuff (mostly food). Finn turned to Marceline. "Marcy, we've got to get going. We need to get to Billy's place and find out some stuff. Just meet us at the Candy Kingdom tonight.

Marceline nodded. "Okay Finn. Just be careful out there. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Please," he answered. "When was the last time we-" He was cut off as Marceline drew herself up close and kissed him on the lips. After a second of brief surprise, he began to kiss her back. It felt good.

Jake had just finished getting his stuff together. "Alright homey, let's WHOA, okay, I'll just sorta see myself out" he awkwardly stated as he made for the door.

Marceline pulled herself away. "Please Finn, just don't get yourself hurt. I couldn't live if something happened to you."

He stared back wide-eyed. "Ummmmmm" was all he could get out. Marceline smiled and pushed him on.

"Now come on adventurer. Time to earn your stripes."

Finn walked outside to Jake, LSP, and the Space Marines. Titus looked over as he walked up.

"Good morning Finn. Finn?" he asked inquisitively. When Finn made no response, he turned to Jake. "What's the matter with him?"

Jake blushed a little. "Well, see, he was sorta, um…When a man and woman love each other very much, they-"

LSP cut him off. "Oh. My. Glob. Finn and Marceline were totally making out!"

"What do you mean, 'making out'?" Iagon asked.

"Guys, this is not the time or place to discuss this!" Finn yelled, his head finally beginning to work. "We've gotta get to Billy! He might be able to help us out here." Turning towards the entrance, he motioned for them to leave. "Now come on, let's go!"

Finn and Jake left, followed soon by the Space Marines. Except for Titus, who had to deal with a lumpy little problem.

"Come on Titus! Let's lumpin' go!" LSP hollered as she turned to leave. However, Titus placed his massive hand on her arm.

"Lumpy Space Princess," he began. "I need to go. You should stay here. It could get dangerous."

"What do you mean? I'm fierce!" She illustrated by growling.

Titus bit back a chuckle. "I'm well aware of the fact," he answered. Racking his mind, he came up with a good excuse for her to stay. "It's just, Jake doesn't want you to go. He had enough trouble that first time you turned him lumpy."

She grumbled a bit, but stayed. Titus went off pleased with himself. At least he wouldn't have to worry about that little blob getting in his line of fire.

As LSP watched him leave, she made a promise with herself that no matter what it took, he would be hers.

They reached Billy's home quickly. Once they got there, Jake began to sniff around a little bit. Dakir noticed and asked him what he was doing.

"I'm searching for Billy's sword," Jake replied. "It marks the entrance to his secret lair."

"Isn't that it there?" Finn asked.

"Where? I don't see-OWWW!" Jake yelled as he ran his nose into the blade.

"You okay?" Finn asked as he ran up. Checking Jake's nose, he saw it was barely the size of a paper cut. "He's cool everyone."

"Says you!" Jake snapped back. "That hurt!"

Finn chuckled as he pulled on the pommel of the sword. This opened a hole in the ground.

"There it is," Finn said, sweeping his arm over the hole.

"Looks like a dump," Rafen grumbled.

"Oh, just you wait till you get inside," Jake replied, holding his barely-nicked nose.

The group strolled in. as they went in, they began to see small signs of past adventures. There were pieces of gold, skulls of long ago slain beasts, and a picture of Billy with his dog. Dakir stopped to take a look at the picture.

Squinting at the photo of Billy, Dakir spoke up. "He looks like a Space Marine, just not a chapter I've seen before."

"He's been around for a while," Finn piped up. "He might be a, you know, discontinued line or something."

Dakir nodded slowly. "Yes, that could be true."

They continued on until they reached Billy's inner sanctum. There, they saw Billy. He was sitting on a pile of treasure, leaning back with his eyes closed.

"Yo, Billy!" Finn greeted cheerfully. "Got some new friends for you. Billy? Come on bro, wake up!"

Titus gently placed his hand on Finn's shoulder. "Finn, look at him closer for a second," he grimly told him.

Finn began to look closer at Billy. Suddenly, he noticed that Billy's chest wasn't moving. And his skin was pale. As pale as Marceline's…

The truth hit him like a pile driver. "No, no, no!" he said, slowly building up his volume until it was a loud howl. He raised his hands to the ceiling and brought them down to the floor, punching it until Jake came over and picked him up in a bear hug.

"I miss him too, buddy," Jake whispered in his ear. As the two held, Finn's sobs gradually dropped into minute whimpers. Finn pulled away, turning to look at the body of the once great hero. He pulled off his hat, letting his hair fall out into its usual wild self. He lowered his head respectably, as did all the others in the room. After a couple of minutes, he looked up at Titus.

"Titus, we need to check his stuff. I know none of us want to do it, but we have to know if he was a Space Marine."

Titus nodded. "Okay. No one likes to dig through the possessions of a fallen brother, but it is still necessary." Turning to his men, he gave them the command. They grimly set about their task.

It didn't take very long to find what they were looking for. Iagon, while digging through a pile of treasure, discovered a golden hand. As he uncovered, he slowly began to realize what he was finding. Turning back, he yelled to the rest of the team. "Everyone! I've found what we're looking for!"

They crowded around him as he worked as fast as he could to uncover it. Soon, he had unearthed a full suit of armor similar to the ones the Space Marines were earing, only golden.

"Great Terra," Titus whispered. "The armor of the Custodes."

"The who?" Finn asked.

"The Custodes," Titus eagerly replied. "The hand-picked guardians of the Emperor himself. They are beyond elite. To see even see a piece of the armor from one is an honor very few can count themselves as being privy to." Turning to Dakir, he gave a command. "We must extract his geneseed. One with a legacy such as his must live on."

Dakir nodded, readying a drill. Jake, however, interrupted. "Whoa whoa, what exactly are you planning on doing?"

Dakir sighed at Jake's ignorance. "We're extracting his geneseed. It is a small organ that allows us to someday create a Space Marine with all of his good attributes. To have your geneseed passed on to a future generation is a very high esteem."

Jake nodded, stepping aside. Dakir walked up to Billy and activated the drill. Finn turned away as he began, reminding himself how proud Billy would be that his legacy was being passed on.

**And as always, please R&R. Thanks.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Sorry the song isn't original. I'm just too lazy.**

**Oh, and I own nothing!**

Finn, Jake, and the Space Marines walked up to the Candy Kingdom in the twilight. In Billy's lair, they hadn't found anything else. However, they had preserved his legacy, something that was enough for Finn.

As they walked through the front gate, the Space Marines were looking around disbelievingly. "So this whole place is made of candy?" Iagon asked.

"Yep," Finn replied. "You can eat almost everything here, even the people. But please, don't eat the people. It's kinda messed up if you do."

"We're talking to you, Marine," Titus growled to Rafen. He grunted and looked away from the lollypop person he was eying.

On the stairs of the castle, they saw Bubblegum. She waved over to them. "Finn! Jake! Delta Squad! Come in quickly!"

They ran in, with the Space Marines creating massive boot-holes in the pavement brittle ("More work for ole' Starchy," they heard a passerby comment). As they entered, they began to marvel over the castle.

"Wow," Dakir commented. "This place is very nice."

"Thank you, gracious sir," Bubblegum replied with a bow.

"Peebles, we've got a bit of a problem," Finn declared.

"I know," she answered. "Marceline and LSP told me all about it." She motioned to Marceline, who was finishing a plate of strawberries held by Peppermint Butler. Next to them was Lady Rainicorn. Marceline floated up to Finn. "Hey," she said.

"Evening, Marcy," Finn replied, a goofy grin plastered on his face. Marceline simply smiled and grabbed him in a tight hug.

Jake walked up to Lady. "Hey Lady," he said quietly.

She turned her nose up and quietly humphed.

"Look," Jake began. "I'm really sorry about last night. It's just, we had to help these guys, and now we hear the Lich is on the loose, and, yeah."

Lady looked at him for a second, said something, and then turned away again.

"Please Lady," Jake begged. "Please? Just one more chance. That's all I need."

She looked at him again. This time, instead of turning away, she pulled herself up closer to him, saying something that sounded reassuring to Finn.

Jake smiled. "Thanks Lady. Believe me, this is a one time deal. I swear it will never happen again."

Meantime, Iagon did a double take at Peppermint Butler. "Peppermint Butler?" he asked.

Peppermint Butler looked back. "Iagon?"

The two ran up, greeting each other with pats on the back. "How's it been, Butler? Emperor above, I haven't seen you since, I don't know, Nocturne."

"Man Iagon, you're a full blown Ultramarine now."

Iagon shrugged. "Yep. And you're a full blown butler now."

Peppermint Butler shrugged back. "What can I say; getting a princess her meals is a sight more appealing than shrieking Tyranids."

"No Tyranids? Where do I sign up?" Iagon asked.

Bubblegum, meantime, was confused. "You two know each other?"

Iagon shrugged yet again. "Who doesn't know Peppermint Butler?"

Titus walked up to Marceline and Finn. "Say, Marceline, you seen Lumpy Space Princess?"

She nodded. "Yeah, she's in back. Said she was getting something ready."

"What would she be getting ready-" Titus was interrupted as the lights dimmed.

Suddenly, LSP appeared, wearing a blonde wig and carrying a microphone. "Hit it, Cinnamon Bun!" she yelled behind her. A guitar tune began to play.

"Oh no," Titus said to Marceline. "She isn't going to…"

"Oh yes she is," Marceline replied, grinning evilly. LSP then began to sing.

_You're on the phone with your girlfriend, she's upset_

_She's going off about something that you said_

_She doesn't get your humor like I do_

_I'm in the room, it's a typical Tuesday night_

_I'm listening to the kind of music she doesn't like_

_And she'll never know your story like I do_

"Emperor above," Titus whispered as he listened. Meanwhile, everyone else in the room was trying their hardest not to laugh.

_But she wears short skirts, I wear T-shirts_

_She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers_

_Dreaming bout the day when you wake up and find_

_That what you're looking for has been here the whole time_

_If you could see that I'm the one that understands you_

_Been here all along so why can't you see?_

_You belong with me_

_You belong with me_

LSP would have continued if there wasn't a loud crash outside. LSP looked in shock a second as she lost her place and the song continued on without her. Then, it wore off and she hurled down the mike.

"WHO THE LUMP THINKS THEY CAN GO SCREW UP MY LUMPIN' LOVE SONG!" she screamed.

Jake looked up to Finn. "Come on dude. We should go check it out."

The two ran outside, the Space Marines deciding to follow while Bubblegum tried to comfort LSP, who had broken down into hysterics now.

Outside the castle gates, Finn saw trouble. Lots of trouble. There was a massive army of snowmen. And at the back, surprise surprise, was the Ice King. He noticed the two and yelled into a bullhorn.

"Oh, hey Finn. Hey Jake. What's shakin'?"

"You're supposed to be in bed!" Finn yelled back.

"Well, you know," Ice King answered. "I couldn't get to sleep, so I sorta built a bunch of snowmen, brought them to life, and oh now I demand the princess's hand in marriage or else I'll order them to tear the Candy Kingdom down brick by sugary brick."

Finn sighed, drawing his sword. "Come on Jake, I suppose we should destroy them."

However, just as Finn was about to charge in, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Titus, who was grinning. "No Finn," he said calmly. "We've got this one. Iagon!"

Iagon stepped up. "Yes sir?"

"Show him why I call you a pyro."

Iagon grinned. "Happily, sir."

He grabbed a massive weapon off his back. Finn had been wondering what exactly it did. It looked like a gun, but the tube thing was bent a bit while the ones on the other guns were straight. Also, instead of a rectangular thing hanging from the bottom, it had something like a soda can on its side.

His questions were answered immediately as a burst of flame came out of the weapon. The snowmen in front of Iagon immediately ceased to exist. The ones back a bit lived long enough to see what had happened before a wave of intense heat hit them, melting them too. The heat from that thing was so extreme, some of the nearby buildings and passerby began to melt. Jake shooed them off before they became puddles of molten sugar, but it was too late for the Ice King's army.

The Ice King stared disbelievingly. His entire army had been reduced to a puddle of water within ten seconds. Finn and Jake's record for beating an army was at least thirty seconds. He shook his head, glaring at the giant figures.

"Oh, you think you're so tough, melting defenseless snowmen? Well I'll show you!"

With that, he turned his hands towards himself and began to shoot himself with ice lightning. It was a method he had only ever used once before, but it would allow him to beat these giants, hopefully impressing the princess to the point she'd want to marry him.

Finn and Jake watched in horror as the Ice King turned from his small, bearded self to a thirty foot tall juggernaut of ice. In its chest, they could see him laughing evilly.

"Let's see you beat me now!" he shouted.

Suddenly, there was a massive _BLAM_, and a crater appeared in the ice in front of the Ice King. He frowned a bit. "What the…?"

He never got to finish, as with a flurry of cracks, the ice juggernaut began to fall to pieces. Turning over, they saw Titus holstering his pistol. "Man," Titus grumbled. "I was hoping he'd put up a decent fight."

The Ice King got up, looking around at the shards of his giant. "How…where…who…What are you guys?"

"Ultramarines," Titus replied. "And you should leave. Otherwise, I may lose my patience."

The Ice King backed away. "Okay, sure, I'll just, wait, Gunter! No! Get over here!"

At Titus's feet, he heard a small "Wenk." He looked down and saw a penguin.

He merely grunted and was about to go back to the castle when he heard another "Wenk." Then, the penguin jumped up and slapped him in the face!

"Hey, get out of here you stupid little bird!" he snapped, aiming a kick in the penguin's direction. The penguin easily evaded and jumped up, slapping him again.

Titus had finally lost his temper. He pulled out his pistol and had just centered his sights on the tuxedoed little nuisance when the Ice King ran up, throwing himself protectively in front of the penguin.

"Please don't hurt Gunter," he begged. "Please, he's the only person who really connects with me, just let me leave, you'll never see me again!"

"Then beat it," he snarled. The Ice King nodded, picking up Gunter and running away, apologizing the whole time.

"Algebraic," Finn commented as they turned back towards the castle. "I've never seen the Ice King beaten that quickly."

Titus replied with a shrug. "Believe me, snowmen and penguins aren't nearly the worst thing that's ever charged me."

XXXXXXXX

The group returned to the castle, where Bubblegum was ecstatic over their victory. "Oh my, you must show me those weapons. I've been doing some experiments with ballistics, but never had I thought they would advance that far…"

Finn held up a hand. "Wow, slow down PB. We have other issues to deal with first."

Her face immediately turned solemn. "Yes I know. Well, follow me."

"Wait just a second," Titus said, holding up his hand. "Exactly what are you? You look like a servitor made for a baron's daughter."

Bubblegum stared blankly at him. He decided to rephrase his question. "You're pink. Why?"

"Oh, I'm merely part human, part bubblegum," she answered. "The human is mostly dominant, but the bubblegum shows through with my skin and hair."

"What do you mean, 'your hair'?" Iagon asked.

"It's made of gum, silly! Let me tell you though, it isn't that great. I just had a haircut before you arrived, and the hair stuck everywhere. I still don't think my staff has gotten all of it."

Everyone noticed Iagon start to turn pale. He then turned over and spat out something pink that looked like gum. Titus glared at him.

"Congratulations Marine," Titus said in a surprisingly calm voice. "You just chewed on the hair of a princess."

Iagon would have answered, but he was to busy gagging into a potted plant to notice. Bubblegum giggled a little.

"It's okay," she said between fits. "Not the first time it's happened, just the funniest!"

XXXXXXXX

Bubblegum led the group down to the basement where her lab was located. Turning to Titus, she asked "May I see your helmet?"

Titus nodded and handed it over to her. She plugged it in to a TV monitor and skipped to the part where they first saw the Lich/Tsui'Katan.

"Now you see here," she said, pointing to the creature. "He was in the middle of a very large spell, so he couldn't put aside the energy to invade your minds. However, it is highly likely he will attempt to do so the next time you face him, so I made these." She passed out a bunch of necklaces with a small sapphire inset. "These will shield your mind to prevent him from controlling you."

The group nodded, slipping the necklaces on. PB continued. "Now, your guns probably won't work against him, but if you can get close enough, your various melee weapons should do the trick. Once his physical body is destroyed, use this." She then handed Finn something that looked like a potato with wires sticking out of it.

Finn looked it over. "Err, what's this?"

"A null void grenade," she answered. "It will open a portal to the null dimension. Once in, there is no way out of there, so it's as good a prison as any. If you use it on the Lich, it will suck his essence in."

Titus nodded, taking the grenade from Finn and looking it over himself. "How do you use this?"

"Oh, that's easy," she replied. "You just pull the pin, throw it at the Lich's body, and stay away because I'm not entirely certain how it will affect still-animated flesh."

"Come on everyone," Finn said. "We've got us a Lich to send to jail."

**Thanks for all the great reviews you guys! Please, keep telling me how I'm doing.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I own nothing!**

Finn, Jake, Marceline, LSP, and the Space Marines set out to find the Lich. It didn't take long to discover their first clue.

"Hey, look!" Jake yelled as he pointed to a hill ahead. "Footprints!"

The group ran up to the footprints. They were not normal footprints. They were not indents in the ground. Rather, they were patches shaped like feet where the grass was dead. Looking close, they could see bits of frost.

Titus stood up. "Well, looks like he went this way. We need to move. Marines, double time!"

The Marines began to run at a fairly fast pace. Finn jumped up onto Jake, and Marceline simply floated alongside them, her axe-base in her right hand. Jake offered LSP a ride, but she refused. "I need to be fit. Dudes love girls that are totally fit," she had told them. She then floated up to Titus and began to talk his ear off.

By the time they reached a lake the Lich had crossed, the entire group was sick of LSP. Finn saw Rafen making suggestive moves with his rifle, but Titus simply shook his head each time. If what Finn had heard was correct, Space Marines were supposed to protect all innocent life, no matter how annoying. He figured this philosophy would get a bit of a workout with LSP.

"So then I was all like 'I'm running away Mom and Dad, and there's nothing you can do to stop me!' and then they were totally like…"

Titus then held up his hand, and Finn saw LSP do the unthinkable: She shut up. He heard Titus mutter a brief thanks to the Emperor, then "He's close. I can smell fresh death in the air."

Finn smelled the air. "I don't smell anything."

Jake sniffed himself. "Yeah man, same here."

Titus stared at them for a second before it clicked. "Oh right. You guys aren't Space Marines. I keep forgetting that. Sorry."

"You know, it sounds totally algebraic to be a Space Marine," Finn remarked as the group began to walk around the lake.

"I'm not so sure about that," Dakir whispered. Him and Marceline shared a knowing glance before they continued on the trail.

XXXXXXXX

Once they had reached the other side of the lake, they were greeted by a terrible sight.

"Oh my Glob," Finn whispered.

They stared across a scene of wholesale slaughter. It appeared that the usually feeble goblins had tried to mount a defense against the Lich. Based off the mass of goblin bodies spread around the field, they had not been successful.

Upon seeing the destruction, the Space Marines immediately shouldered their weapons. "Orks!" Titus hissed at Finn. "Get down!"

"What? No!" Finn replied. "These are goblins. They're the biggest wimps you're ever going to meet."

The Space Marines kept their weapons up. "Looks like Orks to me," Iagon growled.

"Okay, you know how wimpy they are?" Jake began as he walked to the battlefield. "Their king was able to keep the entire populace in fear of spankings."

Titus stared at him. "That's actually rather disturbing."

Jake nodded. "Yeah, and that's not the worst….AHHHHHHH!"

Jake screamed (in a very girly fashion) as one of the dead goblins began to rise in front of him. The entire group watched in horror as the bodies of the fallen rose up, eyes glowing with the green fire that the Lich used.

Jake ran top speed off the battlefield. "I'm not running away," he yelled at the rest of the group. "This is just my battle plan!" he shouted as he leapt into a bush.

Finn shook his head a little before turning to the rest of the group. "Come on, we need to deal with these guys! Marceline, you're with me. Space Marines, do your thing!"

Titus nodded, turning to his squad. "Men! Close range phalanx formation. Melee gear only!"

The Space Marine nodded as they drew their weapons. Iagon had his power fist, Rafen had a power hammer, and Dakir and Titus carried their chainswords. They charged into the horde, letting out a war cry.

Meanwhile, Finn and Marceline were already fighting. Finn used his sword mixed with punches and kicks, while Marceline swung her axe bass. As she split a zombie from crotch to neck, she turned to Finn.

"Didn't know you had this awesome of a date in mind."

Finn grinned. "Well, you know, a radical dame calls for a radical date."

She chuckled as the two continued fighting.

On the sidelines, LSP was looking in worriedly. She was not sure how she could fight the zombies, but she had to. Then, she caught a glimpse of Titus. He was fighting through a large group, but a couple of stronger-looking zombies were coming up behind him. Her eyes narrowed.

"Oh. No. You. Lumpin'. Don't!" She charged into the battle, picking up an old halberd as she came forward.

The zombies approaching Titus turned. They had heard something, and now they saw a purple blob charging them. The zombie on the right looked to the zombie on his left, and the zombie on the left looked to the zombie on his right. They both shrugged, and just as they were about to leave, LSP slammed into the one on the right.

"You don't even lumpin' think about touching my man!" she screamed as she beat the zombie with her halberd (She didn't know how to use the axe part, so she made do with using the handle as a club.

Titus looked over. He had just taken down a large group, and there seemed to be a commotion behind him. Looking, he saw LSP doing her hardest to kill a zombie with a halberd. However, there was another zombie slowly advancing behind her. He didn't think; in a single smooth action, he drew his pistol and fired, messily removing most of the zombie's upper torso.

LSP turned around at the noise. Seeing what he'd done, she smiled to him. "Thanks."

Titus merely grunted and continued to fight.

XXXXXXXX

After a few minutes, Jake decided to check how the battle was faring. He saw that their side had almost won, so he figured it was safe to help. He leapt out of the bushes, punching zombies as he came.

However, Jake didn't get to do much. The majority of the zombies had already been killed, and it took them only a couple more minutes to wipe out the remainder. Once they were done, they stood over the now desolate battlefield.

"Now that was a decent fight," Titus commented as he cleaned off his chainsword and replaced it in his sheath.

Finn nodded in agreement. "I'll say. Totally righteous victory too."

"He's close," Marceline abruptly stated.

"What?" Finn asked, as he drew his sword and the Space Marines drew their firearms.

"The Lich," Marceline answered. "He can only do that stuff if he has a line of sight. He should be pretty close."

Titus nodded. "Then we should spread out. Attempt to spot him so we can get him before he returns to his lair."

The group spread out over the area, each looking for a sign of the ancient demon.

Finn squinted, looking for any sign. He faintly saw Lady Rainicorn by the Candy Kingdom and the Ice King returning to his mountain, but nothing else. Then, he saw a small figure. Looking closer, he thought he could discern a small green glow.

"Guys!" he shouted. "The Lich's that way!"

Everyone ran up, checking to see if Finn was right. Titus pulled out his old scout magnoculars and looked through the nightfall. Yes, the creature was wearing the attire of an Eldar sorcerer.

"That's him," Titus growled.

"Come on," Marceline said. "We don't have much time!"

The group began to run towards the figure. They closed in easily; it was like the creature did not even bother to try and evade them.

As they got nearer, they could see the flesh of the Eldar. It was rotting and slowly falling off, like Finn and Jake had seen with their first encounter with the Lich.

Once Finn got near enough, he decided to end it once and for all. "For Ooo!" he shouted, leaping forward with the intention to send his sword through the thing's back.

"Ooff," Finn grunted as he landed. Where the Lich had been a second ago, there was nothing but air and an old robe.

_"Over here,"_ the group heard a voice whisper. Finn turned slowly, followed by Jake, Marceline, and the Space Marines. LSP was the last to turn, being scared out of her wits by whatever had just spoken.

They saw the creature. It was relatively small as monsters went at only about seven feet. However, it began to convulse and mutate.

"No," Dakir whispered in fear. "By the name of the Emperor, it is becoming a demon spawn!"

**Once again, please R&R. Thanks.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I own nothing!**

The group stared in horror as the Eldar changed. Tendrils burst out of its skin, wrapping themselves around the creature as it grew steadily taller. The creature's face began to change too; a protrusion like a snout grew out, full of far too many sharp teeth. Meanwhile, its hands and feet changed into something that looked like a mixture of a bear and vulture. Once it stopped, it was at least thirty feet tall, with black skin that oozed with some sort of viscous liquid. It saw their expression and began to laugh. It was not a pleasant sound.

"_Look upon me, mortals!_" the creature shouted. "_Look upon I, the Lich, in all my true glory._"

"Glory?" Marceline scoffed. "You look worse than my dad before his cup of coffee. And that's not an insult I throw around very often."

It roared and sent a fist crashing down at them. Marceline merely floated aside, while Finn, Jake, and the Space Marines were forced to dive for their lives. LSP just watched as the fist landed inches from her; fear had completely paralyzed her.

"Come on guys!" Finn yelled. He leapt up onto Jake's back, who grew tall enough so that he could face the Lich on equal terms.

"You heard him, Marines!" Titus shouted. "Ultramarines, go forth! Suffer the demon not to live!"

With that, the Space Marines opened fire on the creature. The rounds were mostly deflected, but enough got through for the creature to notice. It glared down at them.

"_Fools_," the Lich spat. It sent its foot down at them, forcing them to scurry for cover.

This was all the distraction Finn needed. He leapt off Jake's back and onto the Lich's shoulder. With a cry, he charged at the creature's neck, plunging his blade in deep. He twisted it, doing everything he could to get the creature's attention

The Lich really noticed this, causing it to howl and fall down to one knee. Finn leapt off onto Jake, motioning to Marceline as he did. She nodded.

Marceline then flew up high above the creature before speeding down. She shifted into her own demonic creature form, using her now greater size to smash down on the Lich's head.

The Lich smashed into the ground. It slowly pulled itself up, laughing as it did. Once it got up, it turned to Finn.

"_You_," it growled. Finn readied his sword, glaring up at the creature.

However, rather than attacking, it kept talking. "_You have grown stronger since we last met. Still, so have I. Perhaps, we should see who is the most powerful…_"

With that, a wall of energy surrounded Finn and the Lich. Jake ran up to the wall, smashing his fists against it. "Finn! Buddy!" Marceline added the power of her demon form to the wall, but it wouldn't even budge.

The Lich stared down at Finn, slowly shrinking until it was only about twenty feet tall. "_Now, all of your friends will watch the mighty hero of Ooo die, and there isn't a thing they can do about it._"

Finn pointed his sword at him. "Who says I'm gonna die?"

The Lich grinned; again, not a pleasant sight. "_I do._"

With that, the Lich charged at Finn, a sword materializing out of thin air in its hand. Finn blocked it, trying to counterstrike. The Lich merely sidestepped, still letting out its horrendous laugh.

From the sidelines, Marceline watched in dismay (she had shifted from her demon form, its eyes not being good enough to see everything). She knew Finn was a good swordsman, but he wasn't used to this kind of fighting. With a howl of frustration, she smacked the wall again with her axe bass.

Inside the arena, Finn felt himself getting the advantage. He was able to force the Lich onto the defensive and had it up against one of the walls. He then stabbed with all the force he could muster at the creature's face.

The Lich raised its own blade, barely catching Finn's. For a second, the two had their swords locked, each trying to overpower the other.

Marceline saw the wall shimmer a little. The Lich must have been losing concentration. She took the opportunity and managed to get into the arena when the wall shimmered again.

Finn saw that he was winning. The tip of his sword was getting ever closer to the Lich's face, and it had stopped laughing. Then, it broke out in one of its evil grins again. Finn wondered what it could possibly be grinning about when the Lich's foot caught him in the chest, sending him us against the opposite side of the arena.

The Lich began laughing again. "_Goodbye, Finn._" It then leapt up, ready to bring its blade down.

Finn closed his eyes, waiting for the blow that would end his life. However, it never came. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Marceline. She had her back to him, and looked over her shoulder at him.

"Told you to be careful," she said, letting out a small smile. Finn then noticed the Lich's sword sticking through her midsection.

The Lich calmly removed his sword, letting Marceline fall to the ground. It grinned again.

"_So, the love of the mighty hero is dead,_" the Lich taunted. "_And now, the hero will have to die with that knowledge._"

"No," Finn whispered. "No!" he shouted louder.

Finn then jumped forward, taking the Lich off guard. He slammed his fist with every ounce of force he could muster into the creature's face. It stumbled back, and Finn followed up with a roundhouse kick to its knee, shattering it and sending the creature to the ground.

Finn then clambered up onto the creature's face, punching as he yelled gibberish. The Lich managed to grab him, holding him out at arms length with one hand while his other began to glow.

Suddenly, Finn heard a loud, mechanical howling. He looked down and saw Titus's chainsword sticking through the Lich's gut, churning the flesh around it into paste as it slowly moved upwards.

The Lich let off a cry, dropping Finn. Titus continued to slice up, doing his darndest to bisect the creature. The Lich raised its elbow and smashed backwards, sending Titus sprawling into a heap. It then looked down at the chainsword stuck through its stomach, then grabbed on to it and with a sickening noise pulled it straight through itself.

It then turned to Finn, laughing as its wound slowly knitted back together. Finn stared, astonished. If it could heal from a wound that bad that easily, they were in trouble.

"Finn!" he heard Titus yell. Finn turned over and saw Titus. His right arm was hanging limp at his side, but in his left hand he held the potato. "Catch!" He lobbed it over to Finn, who caught it and ran towards the Lich.

Finn charged straight at the creature. It swung its blade at him, but Finn ducked at the last second, pulling out the pin and hurling the potato in a single smooth motion. His throw landed it in the wound just as the Lich's flesh closed over it.

"See you in the Null dimension, ya sick freak," Finn growled at the creature.

The Lich glanced down at itself. It saw no effect by what the boy had done. It laughed again. "_Foolish…_"

It never got to finish its sentence. With a massive howl, the potato went off, and the Lich began to collapse into the portal it had created.

"_No_," it hissed. "_No, no, no, no!_" With that final cry, the Lich fell into the void, leaving nothing but a piece of potato in its wake.

Satisfied that the thing was dead, Finn ran over to Marceline. The rest of the group had already surrounded her as Dakir bandaged up her wound, and Finn had to push aside LSP to get to her.

"Finn," she whispered.

"I'm here, Marceline," Finn answered. "Please, just please don't leave me! I need you Marceline! I can't live without you! I," he paused, giving her a quick kiss on the lips. "Love you."

Marceline smiled back. "I love you too Finn." With that, she fell unconscious.

Finn turned to Dakir. "Why is she hurt? She's a vampire! She should have healed by now!"

Dakir looked at Marceline's still figure. "The sword," he answered, seemingly knowing it but not wanting to believe it.

"What about the sword?" Finn asked, bewildered.

"It was tainted. We could heal everything on her, but the taint would still remain."

"There's got to be something you could do!" Finn yelled, tears now streaming down his face. "She has to live!"

"Well…" Dakir began. "There is one thing we could do." Finn could see that whatever it was, Iagon didn't want to do it. Still, Finn would not pass up a chance of Marceline living.

"What?" Finn and the rest of the group asked.

Dakir pulled out a hypodermic needle with something in it the color of swamp water. "This solution is designed to remove taint, but it's made for Space Marine physiology. With Marceline, it's likely to kill her."

Finn thought about it. He looked to Jake, who nodded. He then looked to LSP, who nodded. He then turned to Dakir. "Do it."

Dakir nodded and raised the needle over Marceline's chest. "The Emperor protects," he whispered, and plunged the needle into Marceline's chest, injecting the fluid.

Her reaction was instantaneous. Her eyes shot open and she arched her back, screaming like nothing Finn had ever heard before. Finn and Dakir held her down, trying to keep her from hurting herself. She went on like this for what seemed an eternity. Finally, she relaxed, falling back to the ground with her mouth open.

Finn noticed something different about her mouth. It took him a second to place it, then he realized. _Her teeth_. They had gone from fangs to regular human teeth.

As he watched, her skin began to change colors too. It went from a deathly pallor to regular, untanned skin. Her eyes then fluttered open. He saw that her pupils were a rather pleasant shade of hazel.

"Whah…what happened?" she asked.

"It looks like the serum removed her vampirism with the taint," Dakir commented. "I guess she's human now."

"My glob," Finn whispered. _Another human_, he thought. "Marceline, you…you're…human."

She looked at herself. "Yeah, I guess I am." She scratched her head a bit, looking around. "Finn, I-"

He didn't let her finish. Instead, he kissed her. After a moment of surprise, she started to kiss him back. Once they were done, Finn looked her in her eyes.

"You know," he commented. "It seems a bit better now that you don't have the fangs."

Titus quietly cleared his throat. Finn and Marceline stopped to look over at him. He had removed his helmet, and based off his expression, he was in a lot of pain. He motioned down to his arm. When Finn first saw it, he thought it was sore from Titus's hard landing. Now though, he saw it was completely dislocated.

Dakir rushed up to him. "Sorry about the wait sir."

"It's fine," Titus hissed through gritted teeth.

Dakir then calmly took a hold of his right arm. "On three. One, two, three!"

On three, Dakir pushed the arm up. Finn, Jake, and LSP cringed at the audible pop as the joint was set.

Titus muttered a bit as he tried to flex his arm. "Still hurts."

LSP rushed up to his side, grabbing on to his uninjured arm. "Oh Titus, I will lumpin' stay by your bedside, help you eat, give you spongebaths…"

"What are you talking about?" Titus asked, lifting his arm up and taking LSP with it. "It's just a dislocation."

"Just a dislocation?" Finn asked disbelievingly. "That happened to me once, and I was out for almost a month."

Titus merely shrugged. "We're made of stronger stuff." He then recommenced trying to shake LSP off his arm.

Finn, Jake, and Marceline laughed at the scene. Marceline then turned back to Finn and pulled his head close.

"Weren't we in the middle of something?" she whispered to him.

**And again, please review. I value your opinion. **


	8. Chapter 8

**I own nothing!**

2 days later…

Marceline's house

"Come on Marcy!" Finn yelled. "Bubblegum's party starts in ten minutes!"

"I know, I just need a sec!" she yelled down. Finn leaned against her wall, thinking about the past two days. Marceline had gotten some sort of new potion from Bubblegum that healed her up, although she would have a scar. Bubblegum also welcomed the Space Marines into the castle, saying they had more than earned their keep. And yesterday, they had each received a letter from Bubblegum. It was an invitation to a party at the castle in honor of the heroes that had beaten the Lich.

Marceline had expressed clearly that she had no desire to go, but Finn had insisted, and after a good hour of goading, she had broken down. However, she had only gone on the condition that she would wear her red boots. Finn had readily agreed to this; truth be told, he was glad she was going.

"Alright, I'm ready!" Marceline yelled down. She slid down the ladder, landing with a small wumph. She was wearing an old red dress. It was not too fancy, but it had some little bits of lace and a small bow. Finn thought she looked nothing short of stunning in it.

"Still not used to this walking thing," she muttered. Turning to the door, she motioned to Finn. "Now come on, we don't want to be late!"

The two ran outside where Jake and Lady Rainicorn were waiting. The two jumped onto Jake's back, and he began to walk them to the Candy Kingdom.

Finn turned to Marceline. "So, how're you enjoying the whole human thing?"

She looked off into the distance a second, pondering. She then turned to him. "It's different."

"Just different?"

"Well, you know, being able to go out into sunlight, eating something besides red, that stuff's nice." She leaned back a bit, looking off into the distance. "Still, the whole 'mortality' thing is an awful lot to swallow."

She turned to Finn. "But if I'm going to die someday, I'd rather do it knowing I got to spend the time with you."

Finn smiled and pulled her over into a hug. The two remained like that until Jake stopped in front of the Candy Kingdom.

"Last stop," he announced. "All couples please get off."

He lowered himself down, and Finn and Marceline jumped off. Finn turned to Marceline and held out his hand. She smiled, taking it as the two walked towards the castle.

Inside the castle, the walls had been decorated with blue and white, the colors of the Ultramarines' armor. They saw a massive ice sculpture in the middle, depicting Finn, Jake, Marceline, LSP, and the Space Marines standing on top of a fallen Lich. It was very well done, even managing to capture the minute details of the Space Marines' weapons.

Jake and Lady came in behind them. Jake looked at the ice sculpture and whistled. "Man, someone worked hard on that."

"I should know," a familiar voice said from behind a massive blue cloth. Finn and Jake turned towards it, Finn instinctively reaching for his sword.

"Ice King," Jake said in a warning tone. "What exactly are you doing here?"

"Relax. Sheesh, I don't even have my crown on now. See?" The Ice King stepped out from behind the hanging, showing a head with a very poorly done comb over.

"What are you doing here?" Marceline asked.

"Well, you know, the princess sorta asked to hire me on to do the ice sculpture, but I kinda decided I would do it out of the kindness of my heart."

"Dude, your heart's evil," Finn said in a flat tone.

"You know what I mean! After all, anything for you and the …gulp… Ultramarines."

"You did this cause you're scared of them?" Marceline asked. Finn could see she was trying very hard not to giggle.

"No, it's just-"

The Ice King was interrupted by Iagon, who was carrying a massive plate of treats. "Finn, Jake, Marceline! I've been looking for you."

The Ice King grew a bit paler than he already was and resumed hiding behind the hanging. Iagon looked after him. "What's his problem?"

Finn shrugged. "Oh, you know, he's scared of you guys after the whupping we gave him."

Iagon got a good chuckle out of this, and then turned to continue to devour the contents of the buffet with Rafen, who was busy polishing off a plate of gummy loaves.

Finn and Marceline went into the midst of the party, watching the various going-ons. Jake was loudly telling a joke with LSP, who was holding the unwilling hand of Titus. He gave Finn and Marceline a desperate look as they went by.

The two of them merely giggled at his discomfort. They watched as he tried to escape, but was promptly apprehended by LSP, who began to talk about him meeting her parents and about how he should be her date to the promcoming dance. He looked back at Finn and Marceline pitifully before LSP dragged him off to the dance floor. Marceline smirked as they left.

"You know, they might not be too bad of a couple. Whaddya say, maybe LST? Or TituSP?"

Finn thought about it. "I don't know. Shipping names are super cliché, but I kinda like LST."

"Oh, Finn!" they heard Bubblegum yell. Turning over, they saw her moving quickly up to them. Once she got up, she grabbed Finn's hand. "It's great to see you here Finn. You too, Marceline. We can't thank you enough for what you did to help the kingdom."

Finn shrugged. "Hey, all in the day's work for an adventurer."

Marceline made a noncommittal grunt. "Hey, I just did it to keep the adventurer here safe." She tousled Finn's hair under his hat, and he smiled at the old familiarity of the gesture.

Suddenly, a slow dance tune began to play, and the lights in the ballroom dimmed. Finn noticed the Ice King coming over to Bubblegum, and was about to react when Marceline put a hand on his shoulder.

"Relax, he's not going to try anything. Especially not with Space Marines around."

Finn nodded. "Yeah, I suppose you're right." Then, he noticed Dakir also walking up to the princess. "Hold on, this might get interesting."

The Ice King walked up to the princess, holding out a hand. "Would the young lady care to join me in a dance?"

Bubblegum frowned. "No."

"No? Come on, please?"

"I said no, Ice King. Besides, I didn't tell you that you could go to the party."

"What? Come on, I gave you a free ice sculpture, you ungrateful little-"

"Ahem."

The Ice King turned around and was greeted by the sight of Dakir in full armor (except his helmet). Dakir glared down at him for a couple of seconds, and the Ice King slowly backed away. Dakir then went up to Bubblegum, offering out his hand. "May I ask the lady the pleasure of a dance?"

She blushed a little and took his hand. "Thank you, Apothecary Dakir."

The two of them walked to the dance floor, with Bubblegum turning around to stick her tongue out at the Ice King while Dakir turned to him to give a gloating smile.

Marceline then grabbed Finn by the hand. "Come on weenie, let's dance."

He smiled and happily followed her out to the dance floor. They fell into a nice slow dance, with Marceline resting her head against Finn's shoulder. He actually enjoyed it, contrary to some opinions about dancing with a female partner he'd had when he was a kid. Then, halfway through the song, the music stopped. Everyone turned to see what was going on, then a light shined into the middle of the dance floor.

In the spotlight was Jake. He was holding a microphone, tapping it to check if it was working.

"This thing on? Oh, it is. Hello residents of Candy Kingdom! I have some important news." He then turned to Lady, who Finn could see was a little confused.

"Lady, you and I have been going out a long time. We've done everything together, like those couples' movie nights, that music we played in the apple orchard, and of course, who could forget that time I pretended to be a Rainicorn to impress you parents." This last one elicited a few laughs, and some blushing from Finn. He had nearly gotten eaten that day, and it was a bit embarrassing.

"So, anyway Lady, we've been through thick and thin together and I absolutely love you, and would love to spend the rest of our lives together. So, Lady," Jake said as he got down on one knee, holding out a box. "Will you marry me?"

Lady was speechless at first, as was everyone else in the room. She then began to frantically bob her head up and down, saying something Finn didn't understand.

Jake immediately jumped up, hugging and kissing her. He then turned to the rest of the spectators. "You hear that? I'm getting married!"

The crowd immediately burst into cheering. Finn was one of the loudest yellers. "Wooohooo! Yeah Jake, way to go!"

Finn then began to make his way to the newly engaged couple, Marceline close behind. Finn could see her grinning a bit. She was obviously happy for his bro, despite all the junk she gave him.

When they reached Jake and Lady, LSP was already in the middle of a long congratulation.

"So I was like, 'those two should totally get married,' and it happened! I mean, it's like you two are lumpin' Romeo and Juliet."

Titus had grabbed Jake's hand in a shake. "I congratulate you, Jake. You two both got extremely lucky."

"Jake!" Finn yelled as he ran over to his bro, giving him a high five. "This is so algebraic man! I mean, you're getting married now!"

Jake smiled. "Yeah, I know. It's totally awesome. I mean, I'm getting married!"

The two of them high-fived again. "Well," Finn said. "I guess I'll let you two be for now. But believe me; we will have a geometric bachelor party at our place!"

"Knew I could count on you, bro."

"You did good, Jake," Marceline calmly stated, letting a small grin show. "I'm glad for you two."

"Thanks Marcy," Jake answered. She gave him a quick pat on the shoulder and turned away, taking Finn with her.

"Now come on, there's a lot of party left!"

XXXXXXXX

An hour later, the party was still in full swing. Finn and Marceline were in the middle of eating a large cherry tart. Jake and Lady were nearby, still talking with people about their wedding and what they were planning. Titus was in the middle of an eating contest with Cinnamon Bun, who was surprisingly holding his own. Iagon and Rafen had fallen into a large group that was discussing theoretical fightonomics, countering nearly every fighter the others could think of with a single Space Marine squad. Dakir was with the Princess, having an intellectual conversation that Finn didn't even bother trying to follow.

Marceline turned to Finn as she finished her piece of crust. "Hey Finn," she said, chewing. "Do you, I don't know, maybe think I could move into your place?"

Finn paused mid-bite. Sure, the two had been going out for a while, but he hadn't been expecting this. "Um, well, why are you asking?"

"You know, it's just that my house is really far from everything. Back when I could fly it was cool, but now it's kind of a pain."

Finn thought about this, taking a bite of his pastry. When he finished, he looked back at her. "Sure, you could move in. We have some rooms I could clear the junk out of. Still, you'd need to ask Jake."

The two of them walked over to Jake, who was just talking with Lady over their wedding.

"So, we could have it in a chapel if it's nicer, but I know this one really great…Oh, hey Finn. What's shakin'?

"Hey Jake. You know, me and Marcy were just talking, and she was just wondering if you'd be cool if she moved in."

Jake leaned his head down a bit, looking a little upset. "Well Finn, it's just…well, me and Lady are planning on moving into her place."

Finn's jaw fell open. Jake put his hand on Finn's shoulder to try and reassure him. "Don't worry man. We'll still be able to go on dungeon crawls. Just not as often."

Finn forced out a smile. "It's cool bro. I get it." With that, he gave his bro a quick hug and turned over to Marceline. "So, I guess you can move in."

She smiled. "Okay. Cool. We can grab my stuff tomorrow, and I still have a key from that time I kicked you out."

"Wait, you were the one that took my extra key from under the table? I could have sworn it was the Ice King!"

Her response was interrupted as Princess Bubblegum cleared her throat into the microphone. "Attention citizens of the Candy Kingdom! Today, we are gathered to honor a very special group of heroes. Will Finn, Jake, Marceline, Titus, Dakir, Iagon, Rafen, and LSP please come to the stage?"

They came to the front, where they faced a large amount of cheering. Bubblegum waved her arms, trying to restore some semblance of order. "Yes, yes, I know we're all incredibly excited. But still, we have stuff to attend to."

Peppermint Butler then came up, carrying a covered tray. Bubblegum lifted the lid off of it and held up eight shining medals. "These are Medals of Admiration, something very rarely given out in the Kingdom. These medals are only for those who have served above and beyond the code of a hero. I would like to present all of you with these." She then proceeded to place these over each member of the party's head, with the Space Marines ducking low to let her reach. She then turned back to the crowd. "Everyone, the heroes of the Candy Kingdom!"

This ignited a fresh round of cheering. Bubblegum waited for it to calm down before she back to the recipients. "Meet me after you get off stage," she whispered. Finn wondered. What could she have in store?"

XXXXXXXX

After they got off stage, they went up to Bubblegum. She led them downstairs, back to her lab. Finn saw on her table that she had a lot of pieces of equipment. Finn had absolutely no idea what any of it did.

"Now Titus, I've been working on a way to return you to your realm," she said, adjusting a series of dials. "I should be able to open a portal. I don't have enough dragon saliva to make it last more than a couple of minutes though, so you may want to make up your mind now on whether or not to go."

Everyone in the room went silent. Titus turned to his squad. "I'll b honest," he said, scratching his head. "I really don't know. Does anyone object to returning?"

There was an awkward silence. Finally, Dakir stepped forward.

"Sir, I choose to stay. I saw the hospital here, and they need someone to fill a doctor position. We talked, and, well, I offered to take it. If you would allow, I should like to remain here and help them out."

Titus looked at the Apothecary's face for a few seconds. The two had served together a long time, and Titus could recognize the emotions in his brother's face. E nodded.

"Dakir, you may stay."

Iagon then stepped up. "Sir, I would like to stay too. Finn here has a lot of duties as a hero. I should like to stay in the Candy Kingdom and help him to fight the menaces that plague this world. After all, just because we are not in our dimension doesn't mean we should not try to stop the taint of evil."

Titus slowly nodded. "There is logic in your words, brother. You may stay."

Rafen then stepped forward. "Sir, I would like to leave. Dakir and Iagon are more than capable of handling the troubles of this world. Besides, someone has to deliver the geneseed of Billy back to his order."

Titus nodded. "Very well. Then I suppose you and I will leave while Dakir and Iagon stay."

LSP then grabbed tightly on to his arm. "Titus, you can't lumpin' leave! You belong with me! Don't you remember that song the lumpin' Ice King interrupted?"

Titus merely patted her on the head. "I'll miss you, LSP." He then walked up to Finn. "Finn, you are a true hero. I believe you will go far in this world, and I regret that I won't be there to see it."

Finn nodded, a small tear welling up in his eye. "Yeah man, I'm really going to miss you. You keep kicking butt."

As he went up to Jake, the dog simply broke down and grabbed him in a tight man hug. "I'm gonna miss you, bro."

"Same here," Titus answered, trying to extricate himself. Finally, he got free and went up to Marceline. "Marceline, your humanity may not be what you're used to, but remember to hold on to it tightly. Someday, you may find it to be your only chance."

Marceline nodded, not quite understanding him but feeling the effect all the same. "Thanks dude. See you on the other side."

He nodded, and him and Rafen went up to Bubblegum. "Princess, activate the portal," Titus said calmly.

She nodded, and began to work the machinery. "Activating portal now."

A beam then emanated out of one of the machines and struck a nearby wall. When it struck, a kaleidoscope of color erupted. The group watched as a portal slowly materialized.

Bubblegum frowned. Something seemed wrong, but she couldn't figure out what. She then looked up at the wall where the portal was materializing. Immediately, she saw the problem.

***cue dramatic music* Ahh, a cliffhanger. Please rate and review. You know, your feedback is important and all that junk.**


	9. Chapter 9

**I own nothing!**

Bubblegum stared at the portal, horrified. There was a horrendous creature halfway out of the portal, looking at the assembled group hungrily. It was about five feet tall, and maybe twice as long. Its skin was covered in blood and other fluids, the origins of which she didn't even want to speculate on. It had no eyes, just blank skin. The snout was about the size of a bear's, but filled to the brim with teeth.

Finn was the first to react. "It's monster-kicking time!" he yelled, trying to bring his fist into contact with the thing's jaw.

The creature leapt aside, bringing the rest of its body out of the portal. The Space Marines all pulled out their weapons, firing virtually point blank at the thing. It took the impacts hard, howling loudly. Between the creature and the gunfire, LSP, Bubblegum, and Marceline were almost deafened. Finn was fine, courtesy of his hat. Jake just stretched his ears shut, and the Space Marines were, well, Space Marines.

"What the lump is that thing!" LSP screamed.

"Demon!' Titus shouted.

The creature was badly wounded. It stumbled forward a bit, starting another of its howls. However, Jake punched it with as big a fist as he could make in the confined space of the lab, smashing the thing against the wall.

Jake withdrew his fist, and the creature fell to the ground. They all cautiously approached it to check if it was dead. However, before they even got close, it turned into a puddle of dark goo.

Finn shook his head as he looked at it. "That was a demon?" he asked Titus. Titus nodded. "But, a super strong one, right?"

"No," Rafen said. "This one was weak by our standards. The stronger ones would have crushed us like insects."

"Um, guys?" LSP said, pointing to the portal. "We have a major lumpin' problem."

They turned to face the portal. There, they saw three more creatures like the one they had just beaten. Back in the portal, they could see many more.

"Frak!" Titus yelled. "Marines, fire at will!" His men were more than happy to obey, opening up a withering wave of gunfire. It pushed the creatures back a little, but there were many more to replace them.

"Shut off the portal!" Finn yelled as he grabbed a broom to try and fight the things with.

"On it!" Bubblegum yelled. She ran up to her equipment, but found her way blocked by one of the demons. It slowly turned towards her, licking its lips hungrily.

Suddenly, with a howl of rage, Dakir came out of nowhere, wielding his chainsword. He plunged his blade into the creature's neck, nearly decapitating it. Dakir then turned to her and motioned towards her equipment.

"Shut it off!" he yelled. Bubblegum nodded and ran to the controls. Se shut off the supply of dragon saliva, and then tried to remove the container. However, it failed to close the portal.

"I can't close it!" she screamed. "It's become self-sustaining!"

"Let's see about that!" Dakir yelled. He pushed Bubblegum aside as carefully as he could, and then brought down his chainsword on the machinery. Sparks and bits of wire flew as he sliced it into as many pieces as he could.

The portal started to shrink. Then, with a loud sucking noise, it shut. The demons began to seemingly asphyxiate, their connection to the warp cut off. Then, they simultaneously collapsed and turned into puddles of goo.

"What…just…happened?" Finn asked. He was covered in the goo; one of the creatures had had him pinned when the portal was closed.

"That's why little girls shouldn't play with the Warp," Rafen said accusingly.

"Stow it Rafen," Titus snapped back. Turning back to Bubblegum, he spoke to her in a bit more dignified a tone. "I apologize, Princess."

She looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry too. I knew we might have to go through that dimension to get there, but I foolishly assumed the positronic barriers would be strong enough." Motioning towards the demon slime left on the ground, she continued "I guess they weren't."

"So, could you try again?" Dakir asked.

Bubblegum shook her head. "No, even if I could rebuild my machine, I couldn't build up the barriers without compromising time and space."

"So, unless we're willing to tear holes in time and space or fight demons, we're stuck here?" Rafen asked. Bubblegum nodded. He nodded back, turned around, and put his fist through one of the stone walls. Turning back to them, he calmly stated "Well, I'm going back upstairs. Join me if you will."

As he walked away, Marceline leaned over to Finn. "Whaddya say, passive aggressive raging?"

Finn smirked a bit as he nodded. "Probably. Now come on, we may as well keep right on partying!"

XXXXXXXX

The party continued maybe another thirty minutes before people had to start going home. As Finn and Marceline went, she laid her head on his shoulder.

"Hey Finn," she said. "It cool if I spend the night at your place?"

Finn shrugged a little. "Sure. Jake's spending the night over at Lady's house, so you can take his bed."

Marceline winced. "I'd rather not sleep in a drawer I know a dog's been sleeping in."

"Well, there's the couch," Finn said before he noticed Marceline was snickering. "What? What's so funny?"

"You know," she said between fits. "Most guys would be jumping at the chance to share their bed with a girl for the night."

"Why?"

"Has Jake had 'The Talk' with you yet?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Jake talks to me all the time. Which one are you talking about, the pillows filled with spaghetti one or that one about whether or not the Ice King ever replaces his penguins?"

Marceline chuckled a bit at this. "Well, I'll just tell you some time tomorrow." She then put her hand over his shoulder as they began the walk home.

XXXXXXXX

In another part of the castle, Bubblegum was overseeing the last few cleanup crews. After a while, she became aware of a presence over her shoulder. Turning around, she saw the blue robes of the Ice King.

He grinned. "Would the princess care to spend the night at my castle? We can have pillow fights, play truth or dare, you know, the fun stuff."

"Why are you still here again?" Bubblegum demanded.

"Oh come on! I give you a free ice sculpture, and now you refuse to even come near me?"

"Get out of here!"

"Alright, that does it!" the Ice King then reached behind his back. He then pulled out his crown and put it on. "I'm sorry princess, but you've driven me to this."

Ice had just begun to collect around his fingertips when there was a loud roaring behind him.

Turning around, the Ice King saw the armored form of Dakir for the second time that night. Dakir had gunned up his chainsword and was holding it at the Ice King.

"The princess told you to leave. You should heed her wishes."

The Ice King's eyes widened at the wickedly sharp adamantium teeth churning inches from his face. Seeing he could not win, he hung his head in shame.

"I'll just be going now." With that, he walked over to a window, opened it up, and flew himself away.

Bubblegum turned over to Dakir. "Thanks for that."

He shrugged. "No problem, my lady." The two stood in awkward silence for a couple of seconds before Dakir spoke up again. "Um, might I escort the lady back to her chambers?"

Bubblegum smiled. "It would be my pleasure." He offered out his armored hand and she took it.

The two of them walked up to her room. At her door, Bubblegum turned to Dakir. "Thank you for the evening. The dance, you scaring off the Ice King, and walking me back to my room…"

"It has been my honor, princess," Dakir answered.

Although Bubblegum was calm and collected on the outside, internally she was in turmoil. Should she? No, he might laugh. But just maybe…

Looking around, she sighted a chair that would work for her purposes. She quickly darted over and grabbed it, dragging it over to Dakir.

"Princess, might I ask what you are-" Dakir was cut off as Bubblegum climbed up on the chair and kissed him on the cheek. Blushing, she jumped off the chair and ran back into her room, shutting the door behind her.

Dakir stood as still as a statue. Finally, he was able to move himself enough to pull his right glove off and touch the spot Bubblegum had kissed him. Had anyone been watching, they would have seen a smile cross the Apothecary's face.

XXXXXXXX

Finn brushed his teeth. Everyone knew a righteous adventurer had to have oral hygiene; otherwise he'd gross out all the princesses he tried to rescue. Once Finn was done, he pulled on his pajamas and went to bed.

When he got there, he calmly blew out the candle and climbed into bed. Soon, he became aware of a warm body next to him.

"Marcy?"

"Mm hmm?"

"Um, why are you in my bed?"

He could feel her shrug. "The couch smells like juice and red sauce."

"Oh, sorry about that."

"It's cool." She then wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close. Finn readily complied, moving closer until their faces were only an inch or two away.

"The two of them shared a brief kiss, then rested their heads on each other's shoulders. "I love you, Marcy," Finn whispered into her ear.

She smiled. "I do too, Finn." The two of them sat in silence, each just enjoying the other's presence. Finn may not have Jake as his roomy and Marceline may not have her vampirism anymore, but as they fell asleep in each other's arms, they knew they were complete.

**The End**

**I just want to thank all my readers. Especially NeverThrive. It takes dedication to review every chapter, and I respect you for it. **

**Oh, don't fret. There's a sequel more or less in the works. Hope to see you then!**


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